Competition Commissioner Melanie Aitken is stepping down in September, two years earlier than expected.

By:Dana FlavelleBusiness Reporter, Published on Thu Jun 28 2012

Melanie Aitken, Canada’s tough-talking high profile consumer watchdog, is stepping down from her job two years ahead of schedule.

As the head of the federal Bureau of Competition, Aitken has used her role to take on some of Canada’s biggest corporations, including Bell, Rogers, Visa, MasterCard, Air Canada and the real estate industry on behalf of consumers.

She wrestled a record $10 million penalty out of Bell Canada last summer after saying it had charged higher than advertised prices for many services and pushed Canadian realtors to open up the multiple listing service to competitors.

She has challenged Visa and MasterCard over the fees they charge merchants who accept their cards, and Rogers Communications over claims about its Chatr discount cell phone service.

Her unexpected departure raises a number of questions both about the agency’s future direction and her own plans for the future.

The bureau’s enforcement work will continue and current files will not be affected, a spokesperson said in response to an email. Aitken will remain as Commissioner, the agency’s top job, until Sept. 21, the bureau noted.

“It has been a tremendous privilege to work at the bureau for the past seven years, with over half of that time as Commissioner,” Aitken said in a statement. “At the outset, I identified clear goals to reinvigorate enforcement at the Bureau and, with the help of the Bureau’s dedicated staff, I believe we have accomplished what we set out to do and positioned the bureau to continue its valuable work well into the future.”

Aitken told a Toronto newspaper Thursday she was leaving “with mixed emotions” and that it was time “professionally and personally to take on some new challenges. Perhaps this time a little closer to home.”

Before joining the Ottawa-based bureau, Aitken was a commercial litigation partner at Bennett Jones LLP in Toronto.

Aitken also told the newspaper she had not been fired. She said she “agonized over the decision” to leave and that it was not made “in a fit of pique.”

The commissioner is appointed by the federal government through an order-in-council.

Aitken became commissioner in 2009 just as the federal government was beefing up the law enforcement agency’s powers to address price-fixing and other anti-competitive practices.

She wasted no time asserting the bureau’s new clout.

“We must not be intimidated by the fear of losing,” Aitken has said repeatedly in speeches since being named to the bureau’s top job.

The bureau has also reviewed dozens of other high-profile mergers and takeovers, including Bell and Rogers’ joint bid for Maple Leaf Sport and Entertainment, Canadian Tire Corp.’s acquisition of the Forzani Group, which owns sporting goods chains and Maple Group’s bid for stock exchange operator TMX Group.

“She’s made a huge mark on the competition law and policy landscape.” Julie Soloway, a partner in the competition group at the Toronto law firm of Blakes, told the Star. “She’s developed a lot of new policies and guidelines. She’s brought cases, she’s really pushed international co-operation forward. She’s made her mark without question.

“I think it’ll be business as usual until she departs,” Soloway speculated. “It’s too early to know what new directions may transpire with the new commissioner.”

Aitken’s hardball approach has sparked resentment in some quarters.

Realtors have accused Aitken of tarnishing the industry’s reputation

The Consumers Association of Canada, initially a fan of the tough new commissioner, said Thursday it has been unhappy with the bureau’s position in the credit card case, saying it could lead to higher fees and less choice for consumers. “I don’t think she’s been that good for consumers,” said association president Bruce Cran.

Aitken joined the Bureau in 2005 as assistant deputy commissioner of competition.

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